Financially troubled Joliet mall to be sold at auction later this month

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Louis Joliet Mall is up for sale and the property will go on the auction block later this month.

The starting bid is at $5 million.

While the mall does have a decent occupancy rate, it has had financial issues and defaulted on its $85 million mortgage.

The more than 323,000 square foot mall had four anchor stores in its heyday, but now only JCPenney and Macy's remain.

The mall sold back in 2012 for $125 million and most likely will be sold for much less.

A Crain's Chicago Business real estate reporter says there aren't many mall buyers out there these days, but many malls have been reimagined with apartments and entertainment. 

"The occupancy is pretty high for the inline stores. So it's not a dead mall. It's definitely not a dead Mall. But you know, it needs some help, and they have to figure out how to bring this property into the shopping mall 2.0 era," said Alby Gallun of Crain's Business Chicago. 

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Joliet's new mayor, Terry D'Arcy, was just sworn in two days ago, but passed along the following statement:

"I think it will be a good thing because whoever is buying the mall will likely have plans to repurpose it.  We understand the potential buyer is doing their due diligence. We hope this will spur new development in the area."

The auction is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on May 15.